Summer/Fall 2016 RIVER DHAMMA News and Letters from Arrow River Forest Hermitage The Tradition of Giving Anthea Kyle In his teachings, the Buddha emphasized the importance of living in a way that is reasonable and leads to your happiness and to the welfare of others. He warned against both stubbornly turning away from wise traditions and unquestioningly accepting religious practices that have lost meaning. One time- honoured Buddhist practice is Dana, which is the cultivation of generosity through giving. Generosity is a basic practice because it prepares one s mind to open up and receive instruction. In fact, the Buddha would commonly begin talks to audiences who were unfamiliar with his teachings by speaking of the virtues of practicing Dana. Generosity, as in all Buddhist practices, should be done with one s full attention to its complexities. An appropriate gift is timely and leads to the happiness of the recipient, it is presented with no expectation of reward or acclaim, and is something in the donor s capacity to give. Dana is truly the gift that keeps on giving because generosity is essential to reinforcing the teaching that one s sense of individuality is an illusion (anatta). Acts of generosity prepare the giver to drop the counter- productive belief that possessions are indicators of personal worth or that there is a distinct person at all. Contents: The Tradition of Giving 1 The Tradition of Scholarship 2 Renewed Mission and Vision 3 The Theravada Tradition in North America 4 Treasurer s Report 11 What s New at Arrow River 12 Donation Information 13 In a culture that is based on individual material gain and independence, the virtue of giving therefore tends to translate into donating money to causes that we believe in. Arrow River, for example, operates on the generosity of its supporters. But Dana is not only about giving material support to others; it is also present when we give our time and effort to others and perform acts that are based on reason and lead to the happiness and welfare of ourselves and others. As we learn to practice giving, we also experience an expansion in our capacity to give and thereby, we receive the gifts of the Buddha s teachings, which according to the tradition he established, are given freely.
The Tradition of Scholarship by Stephanie Schmidt and Anthea Kyle From Buddhaghosa to Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhism has had its share of intellectual (scholar) monks and lively commentaries on the teachings. In Tibet, monks forcefully express their views on points of doctrine during formal debates while at Arrow River, we always enjoy tea and conversation after the weekly Dhamma Talk. Ajahn Punnadhammo is widely published on many topics, including Buddhism and the environment, Buddhist cosmology, and Buddhist meditation techniques. His vision for the Resource Centre formed its foundation and his collection of Buddhist texts stocked the shelves. The Resource Centre at Arrow River Forest Hermitage expands opportunities for Buddhist scholarship in Northwestern Ontario. This major building project now houses the Pali Canon, commentaries and texts as well as books about Buddhism by Buddhist monastic and lay scholars. You can browse writings by Thai, Tibetan, Burmese, Sri Lankan authors or choose something from books on chanting, vinaya, meditation or travel. The Resource Centre has something for every taste; in addition to Buddhist writings, there are literature, history, poetry, drama and fiction, diy and nature sections. Next time you are out at the Hermitage, drop into the Resource Centre and have a look. With several hundred volumes, you are sure to find what you are looking for. 2
Renewed Mission and Vision At a Special Meeting of the Board held on July 23, 2016 at the Hermitage, the Board devised a new vision and mission: Vision: To preserve and propagate the Buddha s teachings. Mission: A place for Theravadin Thai Forest Buddhist practice under the guidance of an ordained monastic is freely offered. The visioning exercise was followed by a discussion of ways to increase numbers in our community. The truth is, we need your presence to keep Arrow River vital. If you have time to and want to help, we can always use a spare pair of hands. We also welcome new ideas and new energy. The next Community Work Day is Saturday, September 24. Don't know much about the Hermitage? Feel free to come out for a Saturday Dhamma Talk, but check the Arrow River website to make sure of the time of the talk. We change to afternoons once the days become shorter. 3
The Theravada Tradition in North America By: Ajahn Punnadhammo It is not easy to determine how many Theravadin Buddhists there are in North America (defined here as the USA and Canada). Surveys of religious adherence, when they don't lump the Buddhists under "other," never distinguish between the various schools. Furthermore, there is an insoluble problem of determining just who might be counted as a Theravadin. There are a small but significant number of North Americans who have taken full ordination in the bhikkhu and bhikkhuni sangha, and these we may certainly count as Theravadins. Leaving aside these pioneering types, there remains a whole spectrum of varied adherence. What about someone who primarily attends Dhamma talks and retreats at a Theravadin monastic centre but might also occasionally do a retreat at a Zen temple? Or someone who reads Ajahn Chah, Thich Nhat Hanh and Sogyal Rinpoche in equal doses? Or the very many people who regularly do some kind of mindfulness meditation, a practice originating in the Theravada, without any other interest in practicing the tradition? To some extent this problem of definition applies to Buddhism as a whole. While those who identify as "Buddhist" in surveys are less than two percent, the influence of Buddhism on the culture has been disproportionate to its numbers. Various forms of mindfulness- based therapies have made Consectetuer: a huge impact on the mental health professions, for instance. For those curious enough to seek them out, Buddhist teachings of various stripes are not hard to find in bookstores and on the internet. How much of this influence has a Theravada flavour? While many 4
Buddhist words have found their way into popular usage (albeit with the meaning misunderstood) such as karma, dharma, nirvana and so forth, it is worth noting that it is always in the Sanskrit form. How many Canadians or Americans would recognize kamma, dhamma or nibbana if they saw them in print? Check out the Buddhist section in any North American bookstore or library and you will find plenty of books by the Dalai Lama and works with titles like "The Zen of (this or that)" you would be lucky to find a title or two by Jack Kornfield or Sharon Salzberg, let alone any of the translations of the suttas. While there are many famous and influential American Buddhists in the arts and entertainment, these are usually Vajrayana or Nicheren, perhaps Zen but never Theravadin. On the other hand, Theravada is at least as strong in institutional terms as any other school. This institutional base takes several forms. In every large city in Canada and the USA where there are populations of Asian immigrants one can find Thai, Sri Lankan, and often Lao, Burmese and Cambodian temples. However, although these temples are often very active and have a strong following in their own communities, they make little impact on the broader population. Less numerous, but more integrated, there are a number of monasteries established and run by Westerners, many of whom have some training in Buddhist countries. The most numerous are the various branches and associates of the Ajahn Chah Thai Forest tradition: Abhaygiri in California, Birken in British Columbia, Tisarana and my own Arrow River Forest Hermitage in Ontario. There is also Metta Forest Monastery in California, which follows another Thai lineage, and the Bhavana Society in West Virginia, which was founded by the Sri Lankan monk Bhante Gunaratana but which has mostly ordained Americans. There is also at least one Theravada nunnery, Sati Saraniya, in Ontario. It should be noted at this point that one traditional criterion for saying that the Dhamma has become established in a new country is when native sons are ordaining native sons, and this has now happened more than once in both the USA and Canada. Furthermore, in every city and many smaller towns there exist "sitting groups" of lay practitioners and in a more than a few places more organized Dhamma (or Dharma or just "Meditation") Centres. These, and the lay teachers who guide them, have differing degrees of Theravada 5
influence. Outside of centres defining themselves as Zen or Vajrayana, the dominant practice seems to be Vipassana meditation derived from Burma. In Burma itself, there are many techniques of Vipassana, but two in particular have migrated successfully to the West the "noting practice" of Mahasi Sayadaw and the body- scanning technique of U Ba Khin, popularized by S.N. Goenka. These two traditions illustrate in different ways the problem of defining just what constitutes North American Theravada. The initial proselytes of both schools made an early decision to present the practice of Vipassana (or "Insight") on its own, removed as far as possible from the cultural and religious matrix in which it was embedded in its place of origin. Goenka established a worldwide organization that included many centres in North America. These offer a standard programme of ten- day retreats with three days of anapanasati and seven of Goenka's Vipassana. The Goenka organization has an odd ambivalence about their relation to Theravada and Buddhism. On the one hand, their publicity strongly and repeatedly points out that they are non- religious and non- sectarian. Many people who do their courses do not consider themselves Buddhist at all, let alone Theravada. On the other hand, they have a very useful and popular digital version of the Pali Tipitika they make freely available, and they make use of Theravada symbols like the Dhamma- wheel and even take the five precepts. While the Goenka movement has remained organizationally strong and coherent, and by deliberate policy separate from the other streams of western Buddhism, the Mahasi tradition has spread broadly without an overall institutional structure or unified standards. Most of the lay Theravada teachers outside of the Goenka movement (of whom Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and Sharon Salzburg are perhaps the most well- known internationally) trace at least one branch of their practice lineage back to Mahasi Sayadaw. But it is now 6
very difficult to find a strict and traditional Mahasi Vipassana retreat anywhere in North America. Most of the teachers who provide instruction based on the Mahasi method have also incorporated to a greater or lesser degree other influences; both Theravada ones such as the Thai Forest tradition and non- Theravada ones such as Zen or Dzogchen and non- Buddhist sources such as Advaita Vedanta and psychotherapy. Some years ago I attended a North American Buddhist teachers conference and at a workshop for teachers of "Vipassana." Someone asked the group how many considered themselves to be Theravada. Only about half raised their hand, although nearly all of the twenty or so participants would have recognized Mahasi Sayadaw as one of their root teachers. So there exists a whole spectrum of approaches from the traditional monastic form through its adaptation by lay teachers to a completely secularized style of practice that might not even define itself as Buddhist. To some extent this variety reflects the varied personalities of the participants, but it also represents more or less conscious decisions about how best to spread the essence of the teachings to this new land. It is a valid and important question to ask; how good a fit is traditional Theravada to North American culture? To generalize about North America, and in particular those areas of the continent in which Buddhism is relatively strong (i.e, the two coasts and the Great Lakes region), we could characterize the society as dynamic, restless, impatient, acquisitive and individualistic. Not very Buddhist values it must be admitted. This type of society can be exciting to live in, but it can also produce alienation and a consequent thirst for deep spiritual answers. All the various flavours of Theravada are sincerely seeking to provide those answers in their own way, and with their own ways of accommodating the surrounding culture. In this respect, certain aspects of the monastic vehicle do not appear to fit well with North American culture and indeed have resulted in criticism from some quarters. The hierarchical structure of the Sangha, so natural in Asia, does not agree with American egalitarianism. The economic base of the monk's life is mendicancy (the word "bhikkhu" essentially means "beggar") and this clashes with the American work ethic. The ritualistic aspects such as bowing and chanting don't agree with the deeply Protestant mind- set that cuts even deeper than its Christian roots. And Christianity is an altogether more 7
passionately adhered to faith in the United States than it is in Europe. It s notable in this respect that the two largest Dhamma centres in America Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock have neither Buddhist nor Dharma in their titles. Maybe there is caution about presenting what could be seen as an Oriental belief- system in the New World; this is a land that proclaims: In God We Trust. Lately, the thorny issue of female ordination has clashed with the ideal of gender equality. There is real progress in this area, but it is far too slow for secular people who have no patience for the complexities of Vinaya and Sangha politics. The secular approach is more cognizant of the surrounding cultural values, and is in essence a kind of Buddhist Protestantism. The lay teacher is a new phenomenon, and the meditation centre replaces the monastery. Generally speaking, there is more willingness to adapt both the form and the substance of the teachings to new conditions and ideas. This approach has been very successful in that a great many people have been introduced to meditation practice. There is much that could be said about the differences between the monastic and the secular approach, but I will focus on just two one organizational, and one theoretical. The first concerns the way in which the activities of the various institutions are funded. The monastic tradition is based on a long history of donation- based service, which in Pali is called dāna. Monasteries are usually very consistent about not charging anyone for anything. Outsiders sometimes assume this is a kind of exchange; the lay people feed the monastics and the monastics in return teach the lay people. But that is a fundamental misunderstanding. This is not barter; it is a pure gift- economy. The lay people feed the samanas just because they are hungry, and the samanas teach the lay people just because they are interested. No model could be further in spirit from capitalism than this. The lay centres have usually felt it necessary to charge fixed fees for services like attendance at a meditation retreat, which is understandable in that the teachers often have families and all the other economic burdens of lay people. And it is a model quite congenial to the larger society. This way of operating has practicality on its side, and it must be emphasized that in the Theravada- Vipassana world there seems to be little or none of the religious 8
profiteering we see in some other religious movements. As far as I know, no one has gotten wealthy through teaching Vipassana. Costs are usually just sufficient to cover expenses, and most centres rely heavily on donations over and above the minimum fees. Several also offer scholarships for students who can t afford the costs. Nevertheless, from the traditionalist perspective, there are problems with the idea of charging for the teachings. When the student has paid even a minimal fee, the relationship between student and teacher changes subtly: there is a new kind of expectation, however implicit, of getting one's money's worth. More intangibly, one loses the freedom of just surrendering in faith that one will be provided for. Some of lay centres in recent years have moved towards a dāna model, offering some courses at least on a donation basis. This may be one aspect of monastic organization that will catch on more and more. The theoretical consideration is one that is more troublesome, at least for the traditionalists. The secularized version of Theravada has, as has been noted, made a conscious choice to present what it feels is the essence of the teaching without all the "cultural baggage" of Asia. To many, especially in the early days of the Vipassana movement, this essence was nothing more than the practice of Vipassana itself, usually in the Mahasi Sayadaw style. Not only were the ritual trappings pared away, but the metaphysical basis of the teaching was ignored or even denied. The result is seen in taking a "psychological" approach that can be at odds with the actual teachings of the Buddha. One key doctrinal difference is the teaching of kamma and rebirth, but I would argue that this is a secondary matter. What is lost, in my opinion, is the Third Noble Truth: that we can go beyond making life in the world more manageable, fair and sane. The Buddha s realization was that the samsaric mind- set can completely cease. However, if the meditation is done just to improve one's psychological wellbeing, then from the orthodox Theravada view, the act of meditating is incomplete. It is a reconciliation with saṃsāra that does not emerge into transcendence. In recent years, I think, there has been a movement back towards a more complete teaching as people are becoming dissatisfied with the minimalist approach. More lay Theravadins are taking an interest in 9
studying the suttas and even learning some Pali. The two most prominent contemporary translators of the Pali Canon, Vens. Bodhi and Thanissaro, are both American and based in USA. The Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies in Massachusetts has been offering a formal course in Theravada doctrine for several years now, and Abhayagiri monastery in California also has a programme of training "lay ministers" that is based on scriptural study. Theravada Buddhism is still a new plant in North America, but at this stage it is safe to say that it has definitely put down healthy roots. The experiments in form and approach are a sign of vibrancy. Although I have here highlighted some of the differences between groups, it should not be thought that they are watertight compartments, or that there is any animosity. On the contrary, we find a lot of friendly co- operation and interchange. The point is often made that the American situation is not unique: Buddhism has always adapted itself to every new culture it encountered. teacher who established a branch in America. He instructed his students to continue to practise in the very formal Japanese way, "at least for a little while." He told them that when they were well established in their practice, they would have the wisdom to discern what was essential and what was not, and could begin developing a new American Zen style. After some years, his Americans students were growing impatient and asked him just what he meant by "a little while." "Oh," he said, "Just a little while. You know, three or four hundred years." Traditional Buddhists take the long- view. But we should also remember the timeframe. Theravada in North America is barely a generation old. In the spirit of North American syncretism, I will end this essay on Theravada with a story about a Zen 10
River Dhamma Arrow River Forest Hermitage Summer/Fall 2016 Treasurer s Report - Lori Smetaniuk The ARFH board of directors would like to thank all our community for their continued support. Your support has allowed ARFH to maintain one of the basic traditions of Buddhism that dates back over 2500 years that The teachings are considered priceless and are given freely. Within that tradition there is also dana: the practice of making offerings from the heart, supporting the monastic member(s), which allows teachers to devote themselves to practice, study and deepen their ability to realize and share the Dhamma. At ARFH, dana also allows Arrow River to offer residential meditation retreats, providing food, shelter and operations costs of the meditator s stay at the Hermitage. 11
What s New at Arrow River Visiting Monk at the Hermitage Khemako Bhikkhu, from Tisarana, will be joining us for the winter, arriving in November and staying till April! We are excited to welcome another monastic to Arrow River. Winter Schedule for Dhamma Talks Effective November 6, 2016 weekly Dhamma Talks at Arrow will be held on Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Check the Arrow River Events calendar for additional information about Ajahn s schedule of talks at Arrow River, in Thunder Bay and on his travels. Talks Online Can t make it out to Arrow River for a Dhamma Talk? Ajahn Punnadhammo can now be heard online! One of our community members, Phil, has made recordings available of Ajahn s weekly talks. Go to the Arrow River website: www.arrowriver.ca to the Dhamma Resources link. You can either stream or download the recording Dhamma Talks in Thunder Bay Ajahn Punnadhammo is offering one Dhamma Talk a month in the Thunder Bay so that people who find it difficult to come to the Centre can still hear the words of the Buddha s teachings. Talks are held on the second Sunday of the month, beginning December 11 th, at the Thai Healing Centre, 189 S. Algoma Street in Thunder Bay. This session begins promptly at 3:00 with a silent meditation, followed by the talk, and ends with tea and a discussion about the teaching. 12
Donation Information The Arrow River Forest Hermitage community greatly appreciates the generosity of all of our supporters throughout the years and in the future. In order to continue offering the teachings of the Buddha to those who seek them, we do rely entirely on the generosity of our supporters. All donations towards our annual budget of $38,000 are received with gratitude, and Canadian residents who donate $10.00 or more will receive a charitable tax receipt. ARFH can now send receipts for donations electronically. Please include your email address if this is your preferred delivery method. Mailing address is still required on all receipts issued. Contact treasurer@arrowriver.ca if you have not received your receipt within 45 days. To all our Canadian Donors: Do you have Canadian Tire money? Not sure what to do with it? ARFH will gladly accepting Canadian Tire money this can be used to buy propane, motor oil and other miscellaneous supplies. Please note such donations will be accepted as non- tax receipted funds. Contact ARFH Comp 2, Site 7 RR7 Hwy 593 Neebing, Ontario P7L 0A2 Email: arfh@explornet.com Would you prefer an electronic copy of River Dhamma? Subscribe online: www.arrowriver.ca/subscription/arfhsubfront.php Unsubscribe: www.arrowriver.ca/subscription/arfhunsubfront.php We respect your privacy and will not distribute your email address. It will be used only for ARFH news and event notifications. 13